Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) Shares Sold by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. cut its holdings in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,521 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $3,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Viking Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 164.8% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 277.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE SCCO traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $106.30. 995,489 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,384,234. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 3.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.33, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.23. Southern Copper Co. has a 1-year low of $67.64 and a 1-year high of $129.79.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 30.44% and a net margin of 24.20%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1.33%.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In related news, Director PALOMINO BONILLA LUIS MIGUEL sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.30, for a total transaction of $425,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $261,916.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Southern Copper news, Director PALOMINO BONILLA LUIS MIGUEL sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.30, for a total transaction of $425,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $261,916.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $35,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,614 shares in the company, valued at $546,759. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,100 shares of company stock worth $483,450 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on SCCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. HSBC cut shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $91.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.33.

Southern Copper Company Profile

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.